Safety clip for earrings



Oct. 2, 1956 c so 2,764,797

SAFETY CLIP FOR EARRINGS Filed May 11, 1953 Kenna/h Carson IN V EN TOR.

@752... (#004, Kim- United States Patent SAFETY CLIP FOR EARRINGS Kenneth Carson, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application May 11, 1953, Serial No. 354,285

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-260) This invention relates generally to costume jewelry and pertains more particularly to means for preventing loss of earrings.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved form of clip member for maintaining earrings in place, preventing their loss.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved form of clip for preventing loss of earrings, which incorporates a simple yet effective construction.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a portion of the users head, showing the manner of utilizing the safety clip;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the assembly, as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the safety clip on an enlarged scale; and

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along the plane of section line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, reference numeral indicates generally a conventional ear-ornament which includes the usual clamping screw 12, by means of which the ornament is clampingly engaged in the wearers ear, as is well known. An ornamental chain 14 is provided with a conventional eye assembly 16 at one end thereof for selective securernent around the clamping screw member 12 of the ear-ornament, and the other end of this flexible chain is provided with an enlarged link 18 received in the aperture 20 of the resilient leg members 22 and 24, which are joined together at this point.

These legs are preferably formed of resilient metal and are normally disposed in divergent relation, the free ends of the legs being enlarged to form the clamping feet 26, having the serrated clamping strips 28 secured to their opposed surfaces so that when the legs are disposed in closely spaced relation the serrated strips 28 will firmly engage with the wearers hair as indicated generally by the reference character 30.

To maintain the legs in the clamping position, one leg 22 is provided with a pin member, which includes a base portion 32, a reduced neck portion 34 and an enlarged free end portion or head 36, this pin being projectible through a corelated aperture 38 in the leg 24 when the legs are disposed in the clamping position. A retaining member 40 includes the slide plate portion 42, having ice opposite ends bent upon themselves as indicated by the reference character 44, to engage around opposite edges of the leg 24 in such a manner as to be slidably disposed thereon. One side of the retaining member is provided with the transverse notch 46 whose width is less than the diameter of the head portion 36 of the pin but is greater than the diameter of the neck portion 34 there of. In this manner, it will be appreciated that when the two legs are forced together so that the clamping members 28 are engaged, the retaining member may he slid along the leg 24 with its notch 46 engaged over the neck portion 34 to abut against the head portion 36 of the pin to prevent the springing apart of the legs.

It will be noted that the above described clip member is not only of extremely simple and yet effective design, but it also lends itself readily to ease of manipulation. In this respect, application of the clip is performed by merely pressing the leg members together between the thumb and forefinger, with the forefinger resting upon the retaining member and maintaining it in the upper position as shown in Figure 3. When the clamping members 28 have properly engaged with the users hair, the forefinger is manipulated to move the retaining member downwardly on the leg 24 into engagement with the pin member, to complete the installation or the clip.

When the clip is in place, it will be manifest that should the associated ear-ornament work loose so as to fall off the wearers ear, complete disengagement thereof from the wearer, and subsequent loss of the ear-ornament is prevented by the retaining properties of the clip assembly.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be restored to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A safety clip for an earring comprising a pair of resilient legs attached together at corresponding ends thereof for connection to an earring, the other ends of said legs being formed with widened clamping feet provided with serrated lining strips for clamping engagement with a lock of hair by flexing of said legs into juxtaposed position, means for retaining said legs in juxtaposed position comprising a lateral stem fixed on one leg and having a terminal ball head, the other leg having an aperture therein through which said stem and head project when the legs are juxtaposed, and a slide on said other leg having a notch movable into straddling relation to said stem between said other leg and said head by sliding of the slide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 184,789 Lynch Nov. 28, 1876 188,323 I Weed Mar. 13, 1877 363,699 Tappan May 24, 1887 704,973 Katz July 15, 1902 916,188 Orewiler Mar. 23, 1909 1,581,383 Connally Apr. 27, 1926 1,881,442 Fisher Oct. 11, 1932 

